Does anyone have any idea on what the realistic job prospects are after graduation from Marquette? I want to attend, but I am not sure if the high cost of tuition is worth it from such a low ranked school? Any advice is much appreciated!

I'm not sure if you are new to these forums on TLS or not; but my guess is the advice you'll get is 1) retake the LSAT 2) don't go to a school outside the T14 3) if you don't listen to #1 and #2 and go to Marquette you will NEVER find work in the legal field

I personally have no idea what the actual job prospects are coming from Marquette.. I'm just preparing you for the answers you'll likely get

BlueDiamond wrote:I'm not sure if you are new to these forums on TLS or not; but my guess is the advice you'll get is 1) retake the LSAT 2) don't go to a school outside the T14 3) if you don't listen to #1 and #2 and go to Marquette you will NEVER find work in the legal field

I personally have no idea what the actual job prospects are coming from Marquette.. I'm just preparing you for the answers you'll likely get

Agreed! That's what everyone will say. However, if we took everything in the Forums seriously, I wouldn't even be applying. BTW, I was just denied by Marquette. It will be a tough cycle.

BlueDiamond wrote:I'm not sure if you are new to these forums on TLS or not; but my guess is the advice you'll get is 1) retake the LSAT 2) don't go to a school outside the T14 3) if you don't listen to #1 and #2 and go to Marquette you will NEVER find work in the legal field

I personally have no idea what the actual job prospects are coming from Marquette.. I'm just preparing you for the answers you'll likely get

Agreed! That's what everyone will say. However, if we took everything in the Forums seriously, I wouldn't even be applying. BTW, I was just denied by Marquette. It will be a tough cycle.

BlueDiamond wrote:I'm not sure if you are new to these forums on TLS or not; but my guess is the advice you'll get is 1) retake the LSAT 2) don't go to a school outside the T14 3) if you don't listen to #1 and #2 and go to Marquette you will NEVER find work in the legal field

I personally have no idea what the actual job prospects are coming from Marquette.. I'm just preparing you for the answers you'll likely get

Agreed! That's what everyone will say. However, if we took everything in the Forums seriously, I wouldn't even be applying. BTW, I was just denied by Marquette. It will be a tough cycle.

Perhaps you should be taking this stuff seriously...

Nah, I don't think so. I listened about my personal statement and criminal record but won't let people tell me not to apply. That's just nonsense.

BlueDiamond wrote:I'm not sure if you are new to these forums on TLS or not; but my guess is the advice you'll get is 1) retake the LSAT 2) don't go to a school outside the T14 3) if you don't listen to #1 and #2 and go to Marquette you will NEVER find work in the legal field

I personally have no idea what the actual job prospects are coming from Marquette.. I'm just preparing you for the answers you'll likely get

Agreed! That's what everyone will say. However, if we took everything in the Forums seriously, I wouldn't even be applying. BTW, I was just denied by Marquette. It will be a tough cycle.

Perhaps you should be taking this stuff seriously...

Nah, I don't think so. I listened about my personal statement and criminal record but won't let people tell me not to apply. That's just nonsense.

Lsat lower than 155, criminal record, and problems following directions...I won't tell you not to go, but you're a long shot at most schools, and will likely get in with no cash at any of the schools you do get into. Good luck to you...

Agreed! That's what everyone will say. However, if we took everything in the Forums seriously, I wouldn't even be applying. BTW, I was just denied by Marquette. It will be a tough cycle.[/quote]

Perhaps you should be taking this stuff seriously...[/quote]

Nah, I don't think so. I listened about my personal statement and criminal record but won't let people tell me not to apply. That's just nonsense.[/quote]

Lsat lower than 155, criminal record, and problems following directions...I won't tell you not to go, but you're a long shot at most schools, and will likely get in with no cash at any of the schools you do get into. Good luck to you...[/quote]

Oh, I know I'm a long shot. I'll keep TLS updated if there is anything out of the ordinary that happens. Also, I tried very hard on the LSAT. Studying 3-4 hours 4-5 days a week for 3 months. I just didn't do well after scoring PT's in the 160's. Doesn't mean I can't be a good lawyer.

lukebyalibi wrote:Does anyone have any idea on what the realistic job prospects are after graduation from Marquette? I want to attend, but I am not sure if the high cost of tuition is worth it from such a low ranked school? Any advice is much appreciated!

I applied and was accepted to Marquette and here are my thoughts, since I think we may be in similar situations.

Marquette is $40,000 a year (I'm rounding up from $38,000). So assuming you get no financial aid and cost of living and other expenses are $10,000 a year, let's say $50,000 a year total. Three years of law school means $150,000 in debt. The impression I got from the profile here on TLS is that Marquette grads are earning on average about $75,000 when they get out. Going to Marquette is not a good idea if you don't get financial aid, I certainly wouldn't do it.

On the other hand...if they come back and offer you at least $20,000 a year...maybe it's something to look into. I don't know where else you applied and where you've been accepted, but keep an open mind. Marquette does have decent name recognition in Wisconsin and apart from UW-Madison, is the only law school in Wisconsin I believe. Plus you don't have to sit for the bar exam in Wisconsin if you gradaute from either UW-Madison or Marquette.

In the end though...assuming I get accepted at higher ranked schools...I wouldn't seriously consider Marquette unless I'm getting at least around 1/2 tuition in scholarships.

It's up to you though. People on TLS say "prestige, prestige, prestige" and "if you're not in the T-14, don't go to law school." I may be an idealist, but I think law school is what you make of it and how you present yourself to potential employers afterwards. In conclusion, my advice is as follows:

1. Be aware of the money situation: Don't go to a school where you'll be buried in debt and not earning enough to pay it all back in a reasonable amount of time (I'd say 3-5 years).

2. The name and rank of the school is important, but don't become a slave to the rankings and the "prestige" a school has.

3. Go where you feel comfortable going. Always try your best, study hard, and learn to become a thoughtful and ethical lawyer.

4. Stand by your decision and by what you know you're capable of accomplishing.

Underground404 wrote:The impression I got from the profile here on TLS is that Marquette grads are earning on average about $75,000 when they get out. Going to Marquette is not a good idea if you don't get financial aid, I certainly wouldn't do it.

I don't mean to be an arrogant jackass, but I wouldn't count on this. I know someone who recently graduated from Marquette, and he was happy to be making $55K/year. He finished in the top 15%, AND had personal connections to the firm he got a job at. One of his friends also was in the top 15%; he graduated this spring and is, as of today, unemployed. Luckily for him, he had a sizable scholarship, so the sting isn't too bad -- but it still hurts not being able to find a job.

The law school profiles on here are a few years old (pre-recession), and they use the heavily-inflated median salary stats reported by the schools themselves -- which are highly unreliable. Even during good economic times, the median salary at Marquette was more like $55K than $70K. Right now you're lucky to be employed at all if your're a median student there. Many people higher than median can't even find jobs.

If I were graduating from Marquette today, I'd consider myself lucky if I could find ANY job as a lawyer -- even a public defender. I'd go to Marquette 1) if my parents were paying for it, or 2) if I got some sort of a scholarship and wanted to work in Milwaukee doing any kind of work I could find. It's true that Marquette has good name recognition in Milwaukee, but the good jobs there are taken by the people graduating from Madison. Before the economic crash, many of the top people from Madison went to Chicago, and some to California, NY, and DC. But lately, Madison is confined to mostly Minneapolis or Milwaukee.

And that $75k figure for a Marquette grad mentioned above is ridiculously high, by the way.

Right, the issue isn't that starting salaries aren't that high. If Marquette grads really made $75k right out of the gate, that would be a pretty great deal. Those numbers are highly misleading if not outright wrong though.

The issue is finding ANY employment where you are able to get good training in a marketable field of law. A huge percentage of new law school grads are wallowing in temporary document review work where they aren't developing any skills. Unless and until they develop these skills, they are going to have a seriously difficult time making it in the legal profession.

Marquette has great name recognition in Wisconsin, and it probably places better than UW-Madison in Milwaukee area (no idea if that's true). However, the problem with Marquette is that Wisconsin is in the tank. And since there are very few jobs available + there are still some people from T14s that want to work in Wisconsin (assuming a connection to area), Marquette isn't likely worth sticker anymore.

JollyGreenGiant wrote:Marquette has great name recognition in Wisconsin, and it probably places better than UW-Madison in Milwaukee area (no idea if that's true). However, the problem with Marquette is that Wisconsin is in the tank. And since there are very few jobs available + there are still some people from T14s that want to work in Wisconsin (assuming a connection to area), Marquette isn't likely worth sticker anymore.

Maybe true for small firms, absolutely not true for Foley/WHD/Quarles/Reinhardt/etc.

Yeah that is what my impression of Marquette was also, I just wanted to see if everyone else had the same thoughts. I am really hoping for Madison because I love the school/campus, and have a ton of friends that attend. Heard nothing but good things about faculty, and job placement looks decent. Any thought on if Loyola Chicago would be a decent fall back option?

lukebyalibi wrote:Yeah that is what my impression of Marquette was also, I just wanted to see if everyone else had the same thoughts. I am really hoping for Madison because I love the school/campus, and have a ton of friends that attend. Heard nothing but good things about faculty, and job placement looks decent. Any thought on if Loyola Chicago would be a decent fall back option?